CSUDH Men's Basketball Weekly
February 13, 2007

PDF Version of This Release

On Tap: The Toros continue their CCAA homestand this week as crosstown-rival Cal State L.A. and Division I-bound Cal State Bakersfield pay Carson a visit, with first tip for both games scheduled for 7:30 pm in the Torodome.

Last Week’s Recap: The Toros showed their moxie in taking a decisive 79-57 win against defending CCAA Champion Sonoma State on Saturday, one day after falling to No. 11-ranked Humboldt State in a tough 70-62 decision.

In an inspiring Saturday night performance, Jonathan Toliver’s 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from behind the arc led three Toros in double-figure scoring as CSUDH played perhaps its most complete game of the season in dismantling defending CCAA champion Sonoma State in a 79-57 rout. Carlos Rivers and Mike Steed rounded out the double-figure Toros with 14 and 10 points, while Trevon Bryant led a solid defensive effort with 4 blocks in just 18 minutes of playing time.

On Friday, however, 11th-ranked HSU used a dominant first half in which they outscored the Toros by 15 and shot 68.2% from the field, and survived a furious Toro rally that saw CSUDH cut the lead to one on two occasions to take a hard-fought 70-62 win. Bryant paced the way for CSUDH with 13 points , 6 rebounds and 3 blocks, while Steed and Shamont Brown each tallied 12 points in the loss.

Toros Amongst the CCAA’s Best...: Here’s how the Toros compare with the CCAA’s with games played through February 10:

• Blocks - Trevon Bryant (1st, 1.62 bpg), Demetrius Love (12th, 0.58 bpg), Jamaal Barnes (T18th, 0.43 bpg)
• 3-Pt. FG% - Jonathan Toliver (4th, 45.5%)
• 3-Pt. FG Made - Jonathan Toliver (T6th, 2.14), Carlos Rivers (20th, 1.33)
• FG% - Shamont Brown (9th, 52%)
• Rebounds - Mike Steed (14th, 5.2 rpg), Jamaal Barnes (15th, 5.2 rpg), Shamont Brown (17th, 5.1 rpg)
• Steals - Mike Steed (14th, 1.38 spg)
• Assists - Carlos Rivers (18th, 2.57 apg).

...And as a Team:

• Blocked Shots - 1st (3.9 bpg)
• FG% Defense - 1st (42.8%)
• Scoring Defense - T2nd (66.4 papg)
• Rebounding Margin - 3rd (+2.8)
• Rebounding Offense - 5th (34.9 orpg)
• Turnover Margin - 5th (+0.57)
• Scoring Margin - 6th (+2.2 ppg)
• Steals - 6th (7.05 spg)
• Rebounding Defense - 6th (32.1 drpg)
• 3-Pt. FG% - 7th (36.6%)
• Scoring Offense - 8th (68.7 ppg)
• Assist/Turnover Ratio - 8th (0.82)
• FG% - 8th (46%)
• 3-Pt. FG% Defense - 9th (36.7%)
• Assists - 10th (12.29 apg)
• FT% - 11th (64.8%).

Eighty-sixed by the 60s: Not surprisingly, nine of the Toros’ 12 losses have come when CSUDH has scored in the 60s or below, with its most recent under-60 point loss coming in the 70-62 defeat at he hands of 11th-ranked Humboldt State last Friday. The Toros opened the season scoring 67 and 65 points in respective losses to then top-5 ranked University of Montevallo and Seattle Pacific, and dropped games at Sonoma State and Humboldt State after scoring 62 and 64 points to open the 2007 calendar year.

Ironically, the Toros have also won three games when scoring in the 60s, taking a 68-60 win over Chico State on December 2, a 60-51 win over UC San Diego two weeks later, and a 66-56 win at Chico State on February 2.

Good-Bye January, Hello February: The Toros suffered through a miserable January, winning just 2 of 8 games in the month, but already have equaled that win total after five games in February. Last month, Sonoma State’s JT Tipton drained 8-of-15 shots from the field en route to 26 points, while Humboldt State drilled 51.9% second half shots in its comeback win as the Toros began 2007 at 0-2. After Cal State Bakersfield enjoyed a 16-point win to drop CSUDH to 0-3, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Monterey Bay gave CSUDH losses 4, 5 and 6 on the month.

In those six losses, however, four were by six or less points, including a 1-point loss at HSU, a 2-point loss at CSUMB and a 3-point loss at CPP.

Friday Night Nightmares: The favorite day of the week for most people hasn’t been so kind to the Toros as CSUDH has a 1-6 record on Friday nights, with three Friday night games left in the regular season. After dropping their first five Friday night contests to begin the year, the Toros finally won on February 1, taking a 66-56 decision at Chico State. However, staying true to form, CSUDH dropped its latest Friday contest last week, falling 70-62 to Humboldt State.

Last season, CSUDH went 5-6 on Fridays, losing three of their last four Friday night games.

“Trey” Magnifique: Although he goes by “Skip,” after sinking 9-of-15 3-point shots in his past three games, sophomore sharp-shooter Jonathan Toliver may consider “Tres,” “Tre,” “San,” “Trois,” or “Drei” as viable options. The long-range bomber has drained 45-of-99 shots from behind the arc on the year, and has hit at least one “3” in 16 of the Toros’ 21 games on the year.

In fact, Toliver has connected for five 3-pointers four times, including a sizzling 5-for-6 performance in last Saturday’s win over Sonoma State, and for three 3-pointers in five other contests. In the CCAA, the super sophomore ranks 4th in 3-point field goal percentage, and is tied for 6th in 3-point field goals made.

One Step at a Time: After draining just over 60% of their free throws over their first six games, the Toros’ hard work in practice at the charity stripe was paying huge dividends as CSUDH connected for 16-for-22 free throws in the victory over UC San Diego (12/20) and a perfect 12-for-12 at Grand Canyon (12/28) to close the calendar year, needing each and every one of those points in the 70-69 overtime win.

In CSUDH’s 10 contests that followed, however, the Toros regressed to their early season form, hitting just 62% (116-for-187) in dropping seven of those 10 games. Nevertheless, the Toros regained a bit of their shooting form over their last three games, sinking 71.8% of their shots (28-of-39) to bring CSUDH’s free throw percentage up to 64.8% on the year, compared to 73.7% for Toro opponents.

Above Average: After posting a 7-7 record at home last season, the Toros have defended their home court 56% of the time thus far, winning five of nine games, with four home games left in the regular season. In Carson’s friendly confines, the Toros are averaging 72 points versus 67 for their opponents, while scoring just 66 points on the road compared to 66 points for their opponents on their home floor.

An even more startling set of numbers can been seen at the free throw line where CSUDH has gone to the line 175 times (113 made) in the Torodome, reaching the charity stripe just 190 times (121 made) on the road in two more games played than at home. Conversely, opponents have gone to the free throw line 172 times in Carson and 215 times on their home court, draining 77% of their throws in the Torodome (133 makes) and 72% away (154 makes).

The Bryant Watch: After destroying the CSUDH single-single mark with 52 blocked shots last season and needing just 44 to establish himself as the Toros’ all-time career blocked shot leader entering the season, senior Trevon Bryant has collected 34 blocks on the year, bringing him to within 10 of the record. After playing limited minutes in four games from December 28 through January 12 due to injury, Bryant regrouped with three blocks in the win at Cal State L.A., the fourth game in which he’s had 3 blocks in a single contest, a season-high 4 blocks in the heart-breaker at Cal State Monterey Bay on January 26, and has 14 blocks in his last five games. To set the record, Bryant will need to average 1.67 blocks over his final six regular season games.

Last season, Bryant tallied his 38th block on February 24, against Cal State San Bernardino, surpassing the previous mark of 37 blocks set by former Toro great Anthony Blackman during the 1988-99 campaign.

Coaches (Nearly) on Point: In a preseason poll conducted by the CCAA coaches, Cal State Dominguez Hills was predicted to finish 7th in the highly-competitive conference. CCAA-newcomer Humboldt State, which was tabbed by Street & Smith as No. 6 in its preseason poll, was given 9 first-place votes to top the conference list, and was followed by Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Bakersfield and Sonoma State, which received one first-place nod apiece. Cal State San Bernardino and UC San Diego preceded the Toros in 5th and 6th, respectively, while Cal State Stanislaus, Chico State, Cal State L.A., San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay rounded out the 12 CCAA schools.

Just how accurate have the coaches predictions actually been, you ask? Five games into the second round of conference play, the Lumberjacks sit at the top of the conference, and are followed by the Coyotes, the Broncos, the ‘Runners, and the Otters rounding out the top 5.

Around the CCAA Conference: Here’s a look at this week’s conference schedule: Thursday - Humboldt State @ Cal State Monterey Bay, Sonoma State @ San Francisco State; Friday - Cal State Bakersfield @ UC San Diego, Cal Poly Pomona @ Cal State Stanislaus, Cal State San Bernardino @ Chico State; Saturday - Cal State San Bernardino @ Cal State Stanislaus, Cal Poly Pomona @ Chico State, Humboldt State @ San Francisco State, Sonoma State @ Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal State L.A. @ UC San Diego.